1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for packaging sutures and, more particularly, to a suture winding device and methods for use thereof.
2. Background of Related Art
Packages for surgical sutures having needles attached at one or both ends are typically constructed according to the nature of the suture material and to how the sutures will be used. Generally, the package holds the suture and attached needles in place, protects them during handling and storage, and allows ready access to the suture for removal with minimum handling at the time the suture is to be used.
The packages are loaded with one or more needles that have a desired quantity of suture attached. After positioning the needle or needles in the package, the attached suture is generally looped within the package using tracks, rods, posts, or other suitable positioning structures located within the package.
An example of one such package is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,528 to Brown et al., currently owned and assigned to United States Surgical, that discloses a package having a number of tracks and a needle receiving park. Each track has a suture receiving port and an opposed vacuum port. By applying vacuum to the vacuum receiving ports, a quantity of suture is drawn through the suture receiving port and received in the track. After a predetermined quantity of suture is received by the track, a needle attached to the suture is positioned in the needle receiving park.
A device for winding a quantity of suture attached to a needle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,854 to Demarest et al. that discloses an apparatus having a number of workstations for packaging needles with an attached suture. As a turntable of the apparatus rotates, a tool nest attached to the turntable is rotated from one workstation to the next workstation. Each workstation performs a specific task with respect to packaging the needle with attached suture.